Sugar in fruit - A concern?

I'm new at this and watching and counting calories of each item I eat.  I'm wondering how concerned i should be about the sugar in fruit.  I have always enjoyed fruit salad but didn't eat much of it.  Now, I eat at least a cup a day.  My concoction include apples, oranges, grapes, coconut, blueberries, raspberries,  and a shot of orange juice for good measure.  Am I spinning my wheels for weight loss?

At least the sugar from fruit is natural but you can over do it. I eat 1-3 pieces of fruit a day, depending on how hungry I am. The way I look at it, is if your worried about how much sugar is in fruit and how much your eating your diet better be 100%. I have a friend who will only eat one fruit a day because of the sugar factor and yet I see her eating cake or cookies, figure that one out??

If your diet is right on track and your having a hard time losing then maybe I'd think about cutting back on the fruit because of the sugar, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

You are doing great by eating fresh fruits!  You have a lot of fiber plus lovely antioxidants in the berries and good oils in the coconut.  If it fits into your daily calorie limit EAT UP!   Fresh fruits and veggies are in no way going to make you gain weight unless you eat too many calories of them.  If you are really worried about sugar cut back on the higher sugar fruits like bananas, grapes, figs/dates, persimmon and add more low sugar fruits like berries, grapefruit, melon, papaya, apricot, peaches and pears. 

sugars in fruits and veggies are not a concern.

they're natural... not chemical.     fresh is best.

i wouldn't worry about it... the calories are small.. the minerals are high.

you're not filling your body up with processed, empty caloric, inert materials.

The thing is, the sugar in fruits is natural - not refined. So although you're taking in some sugar, you're also getting oddles and oodles and oodles of other really great things -- vitamins and fibre and that sort of stuff.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, so long as you make sure to keep eating a variety of other foods :) 

Thanks to the food log, tagged items and database I count calories now.  If I am off a few calories on fruit, I don't give it a second thought.  I think getting nutrient-rich foods is much better than empty foods with fewer calories.  Again, though, I still do count the calories in fruits.   

A little off topic, but does anyone know if the sugar added to salsa is natural or refined? Thanks.

While I wouldn't worry about sugar in fruits, I would worry about the fat in coconut.  The fat in coconut is actually NOT a "good oil."  It's a saturated fat, in some ways actually worse than the fat in meat.  Your fruit salad sounds wonderfully healthy without the coconut, though.  :3

Original Post by shimmercat:

While I wouldn't worry about sugar in fruits, I would worry about the fat in coconut.  The fat in coconut is actually NOT a "good oil."  It's a saturated fat, in some ways actually worse than the fat in meat.  Your fruit salad sounds wonderfully healthy without the coconut, though.  :3

Actually raw coconut oil has a lot of health benefits and many tropical cultures have relied on it heavily in their diets only to have very little heart disease.  There is a ton of info about it on the internet even books written about it.  It is even though to increase the metabolism and help lose weight.  Edit: Plus, it's not like have some coconut in a fruit salad is the same as eating it by the spoonful, it;s probably a negligable amount of fat.

Original Post by floataway:

Actually raw coconut oil has a lot of health benefits and many tropical cultures have relied on it heavily in their diets only to have very little heart disease. There is a ton of info about it on the internet even books written about it. It is even though to increase the metabolism and help lose weight. Edit: Plus, it's not like have some coconut in a fruit salad is the same as eating it by the spoonful, it;s probably a negligable amount of fat.

 Not as negligible as you might think.  I did some quick research on those websites advocating coconut oil, and they do not appear to be unbiased at all.  I'm guessing we are looking at studies advocated by the coconut industry.  The American Heart Association and American Dietetic Association hold the position that coconut oil is high in saturated fat (it is actually HIGHEST in saturated fat of all the common oils and fats) and therefore should be treated like any other saturated fat -- avoiding it is best.

 While a little bit of coconut isn't likely to hurt anyone -- just like a little bit of beef doesn't hurt anyone -- the only people who are advocating it as a health food are those who are being paid by the coconut industry.  I think I prefer to listen to the ADA, thank you very much.